WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Wandering Knight and the Moving Castle ◈
Chapter 13: Outside the World (3)
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“Die!”
This time, Owl’s arrow struck a wolf. It didn’t kill the beast, but it left it limping and no longer much of a threat.
Yipe!
Homi scored another one-shot kill.
But thanks to that sacrifice, the wolves reached the defensive line.
As the two archers fell back, the mercenaries stepped up with their shields raised.
“They’re coming!”
“Trust your shields and hold the line! Watch your ankles!”
When fighting beasts, they had to watch hard-to-protect areas like their ankles and thighs. That went double when they wore armor so flimsy it was embarrassing to call it a gambeson.
Yip!
As if mocking the warning, the lead wolf sprang forward and went straight for Beard’s throat.
At that moment, Eugene swung his long-handled flail from within the mercenaries’ defensive line. The iron weight shot forward with a deafening roar and smashed into the charging wolf’s cheek.
The mercenaries witnessed something they had never seen before.
The wolf struck by the long-handled flail spun through the air and crashed into the ground about five meters away. It had spun sideways about four times.
“Pfft!”
Even in such a grave situation, one mercenary let out a laugh at the sight.
Another wolf lunged in. The long-handled flail came down upon its head, tearing through the air.
Crack!
The wolf’s head bent at an unnatural angle and slammed into the ground. Its momentum drove its head through the earth like a plow for about a meter before it stopped.
‘I’m alive!’
Beard cried inwardly.
Including the newly arrived wolves, there were nearly twenty of them. That alone was enough to endanger their lives, and there was a Warg among them.
If they had been alone, they would have killed a few more wolves before being overwhelmed and eaten alive.
But seeing the knight’s overwhelming might, Beard didn’t think today would be their day to die.
“Don’t force an attack! Focus on holding the line! We’re here to make it easier for the knight to fight!”
“Yes, Captain!”
The mercenaries’ spirits rose. With shields before them, they swung spears and axes to keep the wolves at bay.
Whoosh!
Yelp!
Every time Eugene swung his long-handled flail above them, another wolf died.
“Argh!”
Some mercenaries flinched at the terrifying sound of the long-handled flail passing over their heads.
‘He’s a monster of a knight!’
‘How can a person have that much strength...?’
Knights were impressive, but the one fighting alongside them was clearly beyond anything they had imagined.
Wolves were difficult opponents. Their movements were quick, and weapons had to be swung low.
To strike with a sword or axe, they had to bend their knees and disrupt their stance. More often than not, the wolf had already slipped away, leaving their weapon to cut through empty air.
Countless people were injured or killed after exposing themselves like that, whether a wolf bit through an ankle or sank its teeth into a throat.
Eugene was different. From horseback, he gripped the end of the massive long-handled flail in one hand and swung it with prodigious strength. Its reach and shifting angles were terrifying.
Thud!
A wolf that had crouched low and tried to retreat was struck in the side and rolled across the ground.
Grrrk.
Its left side was deeply caved in, as if every rib had been shattered, and it looked horribly painful. Bone fragments tore through its lungs, and the wolf convulsed as it coughed up bloody foam.
Twang!
Whizz!
Owl and Homi kept firing, and the wolves fell helplessly one after another.
In the end, they could no longer hold out and began to flee.
More than ten wolves had died in an instant, while no one on Eugene’s side had received so much as a scratch. It was a crushing victory.
“Is, is it over now?”
“What do you mean, over? The Warg is still out there!”
When a recruit asked in a trembling voice, Beard shouted at them.
There was still a long way to Bonyard City. If the Warg attacked while they camped that night, they would see hell.
Eugene rode Might beyond the mercenaries’ formation.
“Come out!”
The knight’s shout shook the forest.
It wasn’t merely loud. Like a beast’s roar, it carried a force that made those who heard it shrink back.
The mercenaries felt awe, but the Warg seemed to take it as a challenge.
Grrrrr.
A huge wolf with a twisted face pushed through the brush. It was more than twice the size of the dead wolves.
“Damn it! Why is a Warg showing up in a backwater like this?”
“Shut up and focus! Hold the line, and make room for the knight to retreat if necessary!”
Beard barked at his men.
The Warg held a wolf that had ignored the Warg’s orders and fled in its jaws.
Sharp teeth poked out from between its blood-red jaws. Each was as large as a person’s thumb.
Gulp.
The mercenaries swallowed nervously.
Eugene, on the other hand, was impressed with his horse. Might had remained calm when surrounded by wolves, and even now, facing the Warg, stood without fear.
‘Now I understand why Master said Barsian horses were so good.’
-Barsia lets its foals smell specially prepared blood from an early age. Warhorses raised that way build up resistance to fear. More precisely, you could say their fear is neutered. They say that once they smell blood on a battlefield, they obey their riders even when a large monster stands before them.
The scent of blood from the wolf carcasses scattered around them gave Might courage.
Behind the Warg, the wolves followed timidly.
They had fled in fear of Eugene, but after one of them was brutally bitten to death as an example, they had been forced to follow. There was even a female with a swollen belly, likely pregnant.
Rooooar!
The Warg roared and charged.
It blocked the incoming arrows and bolts with the wolf carcass in its jaws. This clearly wasn’t the first time it had done something like that.
The creature closed the distance in an instant, then suddenly rose onto two legs.
Ptui!
It spat out the carcass and tried to swing its long arm, but Eugene attacked first. His prodigious strength allowed him to launch a powerful surprise attack without a windup.
Crack!
The Warg’s claws shattered against the long-handled flail. Even as it screamed in pain, it leaped forward to tear Eugene apart.
As the distance between them closed, the twisted monster’s mouth curled upward.
It was too close for a long weapon.
“Won’t work, you bastard.”
Eugene had been hiding a longsword in his left hand. He drove it straight into the creature’s exposed chest.
Raaagh!
The Warg, pierced through the chest, hung suspended in the air.
The mercenaries could only stare blankly, unable to join the fight. His lightning-fast reaction was one thing, but he had skewered and lifted such a heavy creature with one hand. It was absurd strength.
Eugene kicked the thrashing creature in the abdomen.
Boom!
With the sound of a leather sack bursting, the Warg’s body slid off the sword and flew through the air. The recoil forced Might to take several steps back.
Eugene vividly felt his kick violently churn the creature’s innards. It had certainly suffered a wound as fatal as the stab itself.
Grruuu.
The Warg’s savage presence vanished completely. Faced with the fear of death, it dropped back onto all fours and tried to crawl away.
Clop. Clop.
Eugene dug his heels into Might’s flanks and gave chase.
“Pointless. How do you think you’ll survive after turning your back on a mounted knight?”
“You’re dead, you dog bastard!”
Beard and Owl laughed with murderous intent.
If that knight had been chasing them, they would have pissed themselves. But watching him hunt down an enemy as their ally was deeply satisfying.
Eugene caught up in an instant and swung his arm. The long-handled flail smashed the Warg’s skull from behind. Blood and pulped brain matter burst from its crushed head.
Slash!
The knight swung both arms in a wide X, flinging blood from his longsword and long-handled flail. It looked like a scene from a masterpiece brought to life.
‘This is incredible!’
Solin completely forgot his disappointment over missing Gopri. Gopri’s disciple was a far more extraordinary knight than Solin had expected.
Once the Warg died, the wolves that had been watching cautiously slowly raised their heads. None showed any will to fight.
Their leader, the one they had followed through fear and hatred, was dead. There was no reason to keep fighting the humans.
The pregnant female stepped forward and stared directly at Eugene.
“Shouldn’t you be running? Are you that desperate to die?”
Owl raised his bow to shoot.
“Wait. Stop.”
“Yes, Sir Knight!”
The moment Eugene raised a hand, Owl immediately lowered his bow.
There was no fighting spirit at all in the approaching female wolf. Eugene sensed only faint relief and deep sorrow.
Awooooo.
The female looked at the dead wolves, raised her head high, and howled.
Awooooooo.
The other wolves answered in turn.
“Damn.”
Even the rough mercenaries seemed to understand something. They lowered their weapons and cursed.
“I know that feeling.”
Gamba, a veteran who had lost an eye after being dragged off as a conscript in his youth, watched with a bitter expression.
After the funeral song ended, the female wolf looked at Eugene for a moment before turning away. The rest vanished into the brush behind her.
* * *
Even after the battle ended, Eugene’s heart remained calm.
A pack of wolves and a Warg had attacked them. Even experienced mercenaries would have trembled in fear, but Eugene felt only a quiet fighting spirit rise within him.
“Homi?”
‘Area secure. Enemy retreated.’
Instead of sign language, Homi used combat hand signals to tell him the area was clear.
Eugene nodded and handed her the long-handled flail.
Homi wiped the blood, fur, and flesh tangled around its chain and head with a cloth. Then she applied a mixture of rabbit fat from yesterday’s hunt and blacksmith’s oil.
Eugene returned to the group while remaining on horseback and cleaning his sword blade.
It was unbecoming of a knight to entrust both their main weapon and sidearm to a Squire in the field. A knight should always keep at least one weapon in hand.
‘Having a Squire really is convenient.’
Eugene looked at Homi with a proud, approving expression. She was more than a dependable, lovable younger sister. She was also an excellent Squire who supported him well.
“Well fought, Sir! That was truly incredible valor!”
Solin approached while calming a trembling packhorse.
“Is anyone hurt? If anyone is, I’ll share some effective medicine.”
“Oh, you’ve already blessed us with such fine food, and now medicine too? A bandage is more than enough for people like us!”
“We’re safe thanks to you, Sir Knight. The recruits in the rear probably didn’t even break a sweat.”
Beard and Owl answered with gentle smiles.
This was nothing like the flattery mercenaries routinely offered knights. Their admiration was sincere.
Eugene was not only powerful. He was a fine knight who showed them consideration in many ways.
“We’ve been delayed. If no one is hurt, shall we get moving again?”
“Sir Knight, shouldn’t we take that Warg with us?”
Owl spoke cautiously.
“Is it worth money?”
Monster hide was excellent material for armor. Gopri had never told him about the quality of Warg hide, so Eugene asked with anticipation.
“There’s more hide, and it’s a little tougher, but the quality isn’t all that different from wolf hide.”
Owl looked regretfully at the wolf carcasses scattered around them.
If they skinned them all, they could earn a fair amount of money. But there were too many to carry with them.
Besides, if they did skin them, they would have to give most of the hides to the knight and Squire before them.
Otherwise, the iron weight that had crushed wolf skulls might come crashing down on their own heads.
There were countless stories of mercenaries who trusted a knight because they seemed merciful and easygoing, crossed a line by mistake, and were cut down for it.
“If it’s not much different from wolf hide, why bother?”
“It’s much bigger and a little thicker, so it’s good to sleep under at night. It keeps out the cold and dew well. It also makes a fine cloak. Knights of the Kingdom of Gord especially like them.”
Beard was already carrying the Warg’s carcass over with his men.
“I see. Thanks for the advice.”
“It’s nothing. It still doesn’t repay the value of our lives.”
“Then how do we transport it? It would be difficult to skin it here, and it’d take too long.”
Solin immediately dismounted.
“I’ll walk. Tie it to my horse and drag it along.”
“Then I’d feel bad.”
“I’m the only one who couldn’t do anything. I should at least be of some help this way.”
Before Eugene could refuse, Solin quickly signaled to the mercenaries.
The veteran mercenaries wrapped the Warg’s carcass in the recruits’ blankets to protect it, then tied it to Solin’s saddle with rope.
“Ahhh.”
The recruits could only pull long faces. They couldn’t protest.
“There’s a stream at the next campsite. We can work on it that evening.”
“All right, I’ll leave it to you. How much will the work cost?”
“Ah, you don’t need to pay me.”
Owl had no desire to do the work for free, but he was prepared to count it as payment for having their lives saved. Since their base was in Bonyard City, making a good impression on Solin was another reason.
Solin nodded, already smiling at Owl with a satisfied expression.
“I can accept a favor for free, but I can’t accept skilled work for free. Please accept this payment.”
“Thank you!”
With his greatest problem, finding a warhorse, now resolved, Eugene could easily spend that much money. He also wanted to make sure his diligent Squire had time to rest.
“...”
But Homi came to stand beside Owl.
“This is too filthy a job for you, Squire.”
Homi handled her dagger with dazzling movements, her expression firm.
“I’ll do it with you. That’ll make it twice as fast, won’t it?”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
Eugene nodded as he looked at the two dependable hunters.
Owl grinned at the Warg’s carcass. The work would be finished quickly, they had escaped death, and Owl would receive additional compensation.
Footnotes:
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